Henrik Lundqvist - Vezina (only the second Swedish player to win this award)Erik Karlsson - Norris (only the second Swedish player to win this award, albeit Lidström won it seven times...)Gabriel Landeskog - Calder (only the third Swedish player to win this award)Daniel Alfredsson - King Clancy (first Swedish player to win this award)

I hear what you're saying. But every year there are a few of these awards that are questionable. I'm still pissed Zetterberg did not get Calder!

As for Karlsson, sure, his defense still leaves something to be wished for, but he scored 25 points more than the second best D-man... That's quite a feat, and I guess that's what made them pick him despite not being quite a complete D-man. I mean, he was so superior in that respect that it outweighed his defensive flaws. And seriously, he's become a lot better at playing D compared to last year. Considering that he is just a 22-yo kid (Lidström won his first Norris at 30) I expect to see him bring home a few more of these.

Last edited by Per on Thu Jun 21, 2012 12:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Question I have though is about Weber. What is it about him where its a near miss on this award. Granted I'm spinning out a bit of conspiracy but do you think his turnbuckle move vs. Detroit this year cost him the Norris nod?

The Norris has never really been solely about defense. There have been many winners that were pretty poor at the shut-down role, e.g. Paul Coffey (3 time winner). I remember lamenting at the time that if the award was really for defense, it should have gone to Ray Bourque.

Anyone who thinks Karlsson is the shits defensively doesn't watch many Ottawa games. He is no stud in his own end but he is no slouch either. He is a very smart player who has a good stick and his defensive coverage has improved leaps and bounds from his rookie season. Karlsson was very deserving of the Norris.

Anyone who thinks Karlsson is the shits defensively doesn't watch many Ottawa games. He is no stud in his own end but he is no slouch either. He is a very smart player who has a good stick and his defensive coverage has improved leaps and bounds from his rookie season. Karlsson was very deserving of the Norris.

Todd Bersnoozi wrote:Boy, what a difference a year makes, last year we had so many guys nomiated and winnning trophies like D.Sedin, Kes, GM Gillis, AV, Lou/Schneids, Malhotra. This year we got nobody and nothing.

Anyone who thinks Karlsson is the shits defensively doesn't watch many Ottawa games. He is no stud in his own end but he is no slouch either. He is a very smart player who has a good stick and his defensive coverage has improved leaps and bounds from his rookie season. Karlsson was very deserving of the Norris.

I still think that Weber brings more to the table all around then Karlsson does at this time.

It's just a tragedy that the sports writers focus primarily on offense, it's like they don't quite get all the aspects of the game.....imagine that eh.

Even the Vezina, Lundqvist deserves a Vezina, no question, but I look at this season and I see Quick with better numbers in more games played, and then factor in that the Kings couldn't score their way out of a paper bag until the playoffs started (29th in the league in GF with a differential of +15), and then look and see that the Rangers were 11th with a differential of +39, and I gotta say, Quick made a bigger difference for his team. I suppose he'll have to be content with the Conn Smythe.